Faith & Reason: introduction & Kierkegaard, Clifford, Aquinas ~ slide 1 Religious faith & reason: general introduction lThe philosophical issues of religious faith & reason –1. The meaning of religious faith –2. The relationship between religious faith & reason –3. If religious faith goes beyond evidence & reason to some extent, is this “going beyond” justified?

Faith & Reason: introduction & Kierkegaard, Clifford, Aquinas ~ slide 2 Religious faith & reason: general introduction –The signifiance of the issue of faith & reason & the Jesuit outlook lThe main positions on the relationship between religions faith & reason –1. Fideism –Tertullian, c.160-c.225 –His famous question –St. Francis of Assissi,

Faith & Reason: introduction & Kierkegaard, Clifford, Aquinas ~ slide 3 Religious faith & reason: general introduction –Søren Kierkegaard (Danish, ) –2. Hard rationalist & evidentialist position –Auguste Comte (French, The law of three stages Positivism (Comte’s sense & the modern sense) –William Clifford (English, )

Faith & Reason: introduction & Kierkegaard, Clifford, Aquinas ~ slide 4 Religious faith & reason: general introduction –3. The harmony position –Clement of Alexandria (c.150-c.215) –Anselm of Canterbury ( ) –Aquinas ( ) –And many others

Faith & Reason: introduction & Kierkegaard, Clifford, Aquinas ~ slide 5 Kierkegaard & Fideism lSøren Kierkegaard (Danish, ) –Two ways of knowing Objective Subjective –Which is appropriate for religious faith? –Religious truth: “the venture which chooses an objective uncertainty with passion of the infinite” (83).

Faith & Reason: introduction & Kierkegaard, Clifford, Aquinas ~ slide 6 Kierkegaard & Fideism –Faith & risk & dread –Faith & the absurd lCritical evaluation of Fideism –How does one decide which religious faith to jump to? –The value of Fideism: religious faith is more than assent to cognitive claims; involves passion & trust & relationship with a person

Faith & Reason: introduction & Kierkegaard, Clifford, Aquinas ~ slide 7 Clifford’s Hard rationalism & evidentialism lHard rationalism & evidentialism –William Clifford (English, ) Story about ship owner Conclusion: The ship owner had “no right to believe on such evidence as was before him” & it was morally wrong for him to believe that it was safe to sail (Peterson 66).

Faith & Reason: introduction & Kierkegaard, Clifford, Aquinas ~ slide 8 Clifford’s Hard rationalism & evidentialism Clifford anticipates some objections –The actions were immoral, not the beliefs. –Clifford’s response: Belief & action cannot be separated; beliefs often, almost always, spill over into action Hence all beliefs have a social dimension; they affect the lives of others.

Faith & Reason: introduction & Kierkegaard, Clifford, Aquinas ~ slide 9 Clifford’s Hard rationalism & evidentialism This is why beliefs may be morally good or bad. –Therefore one has a moral obligation to accept only those beliefs based on evidence & careful reasoning (Peterson 69). –If evidence is lacking, one should withhold belief.

Faith & Reason: introduction & Kierkegaard, Clifford, Aquinas ~ slide 10 Clifford’s Hard rationalism & evidentialism –Application of his position to religion? Critique of Clifford’s position –One may make an intellectual mistake & not be morally wrong for making such a mistake. There is a difference between an intellectual mistake & a moral evil.

Faith & Reason: introduction & Kierkegaard, Clifford, Aquinas ~ slide 11 Clifford’s Hard rationalism & evidentialism –We often must act without sufficient knowledge (e.g., practice of medicine. –In his tacit application of his position to religion, he assumes that religious faith is a leap beyond reason & evidence.

Faith & Reason: introduction & Kierkegaard, Clifford, Aquinas ~ slide 12 Aquinas on faith & reason lThe harmony position –Thomas Aquinas (Italian, ) Two kinds of propositions about God Arguments for the appropriateness that although truths about God are available through human reason, these same truths are also available through revelation

Faith & Reason: introduction & Kierkegaard, Clifford, Aquinas ~ slide 13 Aquinas on faith & reason –1. The pragmatic argument –2. Argument based on the frailty of human reason Arguments for the appropriateness that there are some truths about God which are beyond human reason –[1. Argument based on the satisfaction of the transcendent nature of humans]

Faith & Reason: introduction & Kierkegaard, Clifford, Aquinas ~ slide 14 Aquinas on faith & reason –2. Argument for richness of our knowledge of God –3. Argument for plausibility that knowledge of God would be beyond the abilities of human reason On the relationship between religious faith & reason: the harmony position (Peterson et al 62-63) –Principle vs practice

Faith & Reason: introduction & Kierkegaard, Clifford, Aquinas ~ slide 15 Aquinas on faith & reason Concluding overview of Aquinas’s position –1. Faith precedes reason –2. Reason alone cannot arrive at many of the propositions of religious faith; but once these propositions are available (by revelation), reason can show that they are reasonable.

Faith & Reason: introduction & Kierkegaard, Clifford, Aquinas ~ slide 16 Aquinas on faith & reason –3. Religious faith is partly proposition; it makes truth-claims –4. In principle, religious faith & reason are in harmony. –5. In practice, they may conflict but when they do, reason must be wrong.

Faith & Reason: introduction & Kierkegaard, Clifford, Aquinas ~ slide 17 Aquinas on faith & reason –Critique of Aquinas On # 5, in view of our 20th century awareness of the historicity of the development of dogma & of the interpretation of scripture, why not say that in cases of conflict, both religious faith & reason must reassess their positions?